The Florida Marlins have hired former Washington Nationals pitching coach Randy St. Claire as their new pitching coach, a source said Tuesday. St. Claire confirmed he has agreed to a two-year deal.

``I'm very excited -- what a great staff to be able to work with,'' St. Claire said. ``I've seen them pitch a whole lot, and it's a very talented group, and I'm looking forward to working with them. I'm not going to come in and start making wholesale changes on guys. I think some of the guys have pretty solid mechanics, and their deliveries are good. It's more watching them and getting familiar with them and seeing if there are some minor things that can lead to major changes.''

St. Claire, 49, was fired as the Nationals' pitching coach on June 1, in the middle of his seventh year in that position. At the time, Nationals general manager Mike Rizzo said, ``The numbers speak for themselves. We're last in the major leagues in nine major pitching categories.''

But the Marlins think highly of St. Claire and believe he can help a young staff that finished ninth in the National League in earned-run average (4.29). He replaces Mark Wiley, who was offered another job by the Marlins.

The Marlins had interest in hiring former Diamondbacks and Mariners pitching coach Bryan Price, but he opted to become pitching coach of the Cincinnati Reds.

St. Claire was a coach in the Montreal Expos minor league system in 2002 when owner Jeffrey Loria essentially traded in the Expos for the Marlins. St. Claire could have joined the Marlins organization at that time but decided to stay with the Expos for family reasons.

St. Claire pitched for five teams in a nine-year major league career, finishing with a 12-6 record, nine saves and a 4.14 ERA.

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